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NASCIO President, OK CIO James “Bo” Reese Testifies on State Impact of Federal Regulations before House Oversight, Intergovernmental Affairs Subcommittee

WASHINGTON, D.C., Wednesday, July 18 — Today NASCIO President and Oklahoma Chief Information Officer, James “Bo” Reese, testified before the House Oversight, Intergovernmental Affairs Subcommittee at their hearing, “Regulatory Divergence: Failure of the Regulatory State.” Reese’s testimony focused on the impact that federal cybersecurity regulations have on state IT consolidation/optimization and cybersecurity investments. Reese thanked the Subcommittee to for their support to address this issue and highlighted full committee Chairman Trey Gowdy’s (R-SC) GAO request sent in October 2017 requesting a GAO study on “the extent and impact of information security and privacy requirements, and related audits, have on state programs.”

Reese highlighted Oklahoma’s IT unification efforts in his testimony and noted that his state has reaped $372 million in savings and cost avoidance through this effort. “State CIOs seek to be good stewards of state taxpayer dollars while also working to effectively and efficiently meet the technology and IT needs of state agencies. We deeply appreciate the interest of the House Oversight, Intergovernmental Affairs Subcommittee in helping us address the burden of federal regulations and its impact to states in their IT consolidation journey,” said Reese about the hearing.

In his testimony, Reese brought attention to several federal regulations that pose obstacles for state IT consolidation/optimization and risk-based cybersecurity investments. Reese also called on federal regulatory agencies to collaborate with state CIOs to harmonize disparate federal regulations and normalize the audit process.